Skyfire returned in 2024 for the first time since 2019. Photo: Ben Appleton, Photox – Canberra Photography Services.
Skyfire will return as promised in 2025, with organisers confirming the massive display of fireworks will again light up Lake Burley Griffin in March.
Those around in 1989 will remember the inaugural event put on by radio station FM 104.7 for the ‘Canberra Festival’ when an estimated 10,000 people turned out to watch the salvo of fireworks.
Skyfire quickly cemented its place as an annual tradition, attracting well over 100,000 people each year, and was only cancelled in 2020 due to COVID restrictions.
In 2023, AmplifyCBR (which operates Hit 104.7 and Mix 106.3) made the “huge announcement” that Skyfire would return for the first time in five years in March 2024.
It was estimated that more than 130,000 people lined the shores of Lake Burley Griffin to watch more than 40,000 effects, 2500 shells and 25,000 shooting comets light up the sky – all set to a “high-energy” broadcast from each radio station.
Setting up for a previous Skyfire. Photo: Region.
AmplifyCBR general manager Craig Wagstaff later described last year’s event as “a fantastic night for Canberra”.
“In speaking with numerous members of the public throughout the afternoon and evening, there was the strong sense that the community was really looking forward to it (and its return) and that it appealed to all ages with a significant number of family and friends who came to Canberra from interstate using Skyfire as the catalyst to visit.”
For 2025, Skyfire will be held on Saturday, 15 March, with the firework action concentrated over 20 minutes from 8:30 pm.
In a statement issued on 28 January, AmplifyCBR said the event would be a “day-long event which welcomes people to the focal point of our city” with an array of food trucks and markets.
Photo: Canberra Southern Cross Club.
Two entertainment hubs will also feature live radio broadcasts and speakers for those who forget to bring their radios and big screens to watch the action from around the lake unfold.
The night sky will be decorated with a total of 40,000 pyrotechnic effects, 2500 shells and 25,000 shooting comets – all preceded by a flyover of F35 Lighting fighter jets from the RAAF.
Further details regarding the event, as well as transport and traffic changes, will be available closer to the event.
Loading ...
